The little shadow (Rewrite)
by Kittens Secret
Summary: Harry is turned into a kitten through mysterious means. Snape is the only one he can trust at the moment but the lack of communication is making things difficult.
1. Trouble for our young hero

I decided to rewrite my old story, it will be expanded and take a different turn then the last. I tripled my word count and added more detail. If you enjoy please review, it helps me gauge the reactions and improve my writing.

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Harry was awoken by a yell and a heavy object landing on his bed. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes he saw Neville standing on his bed with a book raised. Tilting his head Harry was about to say something when Neville threw the book at him.

"How did you get in here? And what have you done to Harry?!" he shrieked

Harry dove away from the book and said

"Neville it's me. Why are you acting this way?"

Well, that's what he tried to say but all that came out was a concerned growl. Shocked Harry backed up and fell off the bed, scrambling up he ended up stepping on one of his tails and yowling. _'Wait? I Have a tail?'_ Turning around he looked and not only saw one tail but three. _'Three!'_ Before he could give it any more thought another book came flying his way. Diving under the bed he looked around, he felt like he had to get out. _'There's the door!'_ one of the other boys had opened the door at the noise and was talking to Neville. Not staying to listen Harry darted out and ran down the stairs from the boy's dormitory. Dashing under a sofa he curled up with his tails wrapped around him and ears flat. _'I have to get out of the common room, It's not safe.'_

As luck would have it people were leaving for breakfast, Harry heard a group of girls headed to the door chatting about what their plans were after class. As soon as they opened the door Harry took off at a full sprint past the girls. Ignoring their screams he kept running down the hallways towards the Great hall. _'I have to get to Dumbledore, he will know what to do.'_

Approaching the main hall he slowed and stuck to the wall, there were some students gathered in the foyer waiting for their friends before heading into the hall. Sneaking closer he decided to just run for Dumbledore's hall. Students scrambled out of his way screaming, some fired curses that had him bobbing and weaving. One particular spell hit his back paw making him stumble and slow his pace. ' _Ouch, that one hurt. Must keep going'_ The problem was between trying to avoid students and dodging spells he had lost which way to go. Behind a row of legs he could see the wide stairs that led to the dungeon. _'I can hide there till breakfast is over'_

He limped towards the stairs as fast as he could. Reaching the top he started to crawl down them when he felt another spell hit one of his tails, feeling no pain he continued down as fast as his body would allow him. After a few steps his back paw stopped hurting. Then, he realized he couldn't feel his back paws at all. _'Oh, Shit.'_ Harry ended up tumbling down the rest of the stairs whimpering as he hit the bottom. Pulling himself up he looked up at the stairs towards the students still there. None seemed to be following him which was perfectly fine with him. Pulling himself along he crawled behind a statue to hide, as he was laying there he heard Dumbledore ordering the students.

"Everyone please, go back to what you were doing. I promise you a search shall be conducted and we shall find the animal."

Closing his eyes Harry sighed, after the commotion died down he would find his way to Dumbledore. _'A quick nap won't hurt'_ was the last thing that crossed his mind before he fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Getting to know you

Harry woke up to the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. Pushing himself further behind the statue he peered around it. He would know those billowing black robes anywhere _'Snape. If anyone can figure out what happened it will be him'_ Harry looked both ways before exiting from behind the statue and following behind him. Snape was in no rush which was good for Harry, had the man been going full, motivated, I have places to be speed he would have lost the small tag along.

Harry stuck to the walls wanting to keep out of view, his hurt paw made it harder to walk so he tried to keep as much weight off of it as possible. Snape finally stopped in front of a portrait of a man who looked none too impressed about being woken up. After a short conversation that Harry only caught parts of the portrait swung open and Snape stepped through. Harry followed closely making sure his tails were through before the portrait closed. Looking around he found himself in a rather large room, making his way in he curled up beside the fireplace, close enough to stay warm but still out of the way. Looking out into the room Harry was quite surprised; the entire room was done in warm colors. There was a mahogany desk pushed against the right wall with papers stacked in neat piles, along most of the back wall were mahogany bookshelves filled with titles. Before where he hid was a forest green settee with two chairs placed perpendicular at either end, inside the U the seating made was a moderately sized coffee table with a couple books on it. All in all, it was comfortable, Harry never thought of the man having a comfortable living space.

"So you're the beast everyone is looking for." Came a voice from beside him.

Jumping Harry curled closer to the corner shaking. Looking over he saw Snape standing in a small kitchen scooping some loose tea into a pot. Harry tried to speak again but all that came out was an embarrassingly pitiful mew. Wrapping his tails around him further he decided hiding was the best option ' _I should have never come here.'_ Hearing footsteps come closer Harry lifted one tail to peek out at the man. Surprised he saw him down on a knee with his hand outstretched; curious Harry sniffed the offered hand then uncurled slightly. The hand moved to atop his head and slowly started scratching _'Hey! What do you think you...ohh…that's nice'_ Harry fell into a purr and tilted his head to get Snape to scratch the right spot. Hearing a chuckle he opened his eyes lazily to stare at the man.

"How did you get in here little one? And what happened to your paw?"

Harry was broken out of his daze as he felt a sharp pang in his paw. Hissing he lashed out at the hand that had caused it.

"Hey, none of that. Here let me take you to my lab, I have some salve that will take away the pain."

Harry watched as Snape carefully picked him up carrying him to an ajar door beside his desk. Harry wasn't surprised that he had a lab in his rooms, what he was surprised by was the mess. The man's office and rooms were near pristine, this room on the other hand. There were papers strewn across the tables, balled up pieces littered the floor, jars lined the other tables with some still on the chopping board. Snape walked to one of the tables and pushed the papers to the floor making room for his charge.

"Now stay here I have to get the salve." He said as he walked towards a closet in the back.

Harry was still in shock. The man was…messy! He so had to tell Hermione. At that thought, he had a pain in his chest. _'Hermione, Ron…will I ever get to see my friends again?_ ' A crash and a curse broke him from his thoughts. Harry tried looking into the closet but he couldn't quite see in to it from his position on the table. Snape came out shortly after holding a couple bottles and a small tub.

"Now I need to get your weight for the correct dosage." Pulling out his wand he pointed it at Harry.

Startled Harry scrambled back falling off the table and crawled beneath some papers. Shaking, Snape ran around the table and pulled the papers away reaching for harry who flinched and whined. Snape paused his hand.

"I won't hurt you little one, I just don't want to give you too much medicine. Please, I only want to help." Harry looked up at Snape and relaxed pushing his head into his hand.

Picking him back up Snape placed him on the table again before saying a short incantation. Frowning at the number revealed he placed his hands on Harry's body rubbing down. Harry purred and lifted his rump wanting Snape to pet his tails but he just kept running over his sides pausing at his stomach.

"You are very underweight there little one. For a cat your size you should be quite a bit heavier." Snape stopped petting him and thought for a moment. "I will need to run a few more tests but for now let's try and help that paw."

Harry sat down then rolled on his side presenting Snape with his paw. Snape's eyes widened slightly then he chuckled.

"Well you certainly understand me, and at least you listen, unlike those brat's I must teach."

Harry would have been offended but he knew he wasn't easy to teach. Instead, he just purred and rolled over more showing off his belly. Picking up the salve Snape carefully applied it to the swollen foot before measuring out a small amount of potion.

"Ok down the hatch," Harry looked at the potion then got up and turned his back to Snape. _'I'm not taking that, it tastes horrible'_

"Don't be difficult, I can do this the hard way."

In response, Harry looked over his shoulder then looked back to the opposite wall. Snape sighed and grabbed a clean syringe pulling the liquid into it.

"Hard way it is then" Snape grabbed him and pulled him under one arm effectively trapping his paws while his hand went under his jaw, the other hand used the syringe to pry open his mouth and squirt the foul tasting liquid inside. After the syringe was emptied Snape let him go then backed away from the table. Harry, for the most part, tried to spit out the taste and glare at the man. _'I said I didn't want it, jerk!'_ He growled softly and Snape raised his hands to the air.

"Hey, I said we could do it the easy way but no…you wanted to be stubborn."

At that Harry relaxed. He knew Snape was right. _'Still, doesn't give him the right to force it down my throat.'_ Seeing Harry relax slightly Snape approached slowly and rubbed his head.

"Now I have to make a potion to figure out what else is wrong with you. You may stay here as long as you don't get into anything." Snape turned away and busied himself gathering ingredients and making room on his cluttered tables. Harry watched for a while before deciding a nap was in order. Curling up Harry pulled his tails around himself before falling asleep.

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Please review, I'm kinda nervous about this one, i wanna know what you guys think.


	3. Potion Progress

Harry woke up to a loud growl coming from his stomach. Looking around he noticed Snape staring at him. _'Now that's embarrassing...and slightly creepy'_

"Hungry little one? When is the last time you ate?" Snape asked, coming up and petting his ears.

Harry just purred and leaned into the hand, he would never admit how nice this felt. Snape carefully picked him up and carried him to his kitchen.

"You have good timing, the potion is done and I need something from you to make it work. But for now let's find you some food, I don't have much but I should have some milk and maybe some sausage."

He placed Harry on one of the chairs before digging through his cold-charmed cabinet. Pulling out the milk he poured a little in a bowl before placing it on the chair with Harry. Going back to the cabinet he pulled out some sausage and pulled a couple eggs off the counter.

"Might as well have breakfast for dinner hmm?" He asked glancing over his shoulder.

Harry was never a fan of milk, he mostly preferred juice but good lord was this good. He finished quickly and meowed at Snape for some more. All he received was a glance over a shoulder and a chuckle.

"If you wait just a minute you will get something even better."

Snape turned back to the stove humming as he pushed the sausages around while keeping an eye on the eggs for himself. Satisfied with how they turned out he plated his eggs with a couple sausages then grabbed another bowl for Harry cutting up a sausage into kitten sized bites. Placing the bowl in front of him Snape sat in the other chair and started on his own lunch.

"How do you like it?" Snape paused then chuckled to himself

"Look at me, so lonely I'm talking to a cat, well actually I'm not sure what you are but cat seems to fit."

Harry just tilted his head in response. Honestly, he didn't even know what he was, all he knew is he had ears that loved being rubbed and three tails that tended to find their way under his feet. Shrugging he finished off his sausage before watching Snape. The man had grabbed a newspaper and was currently reading through an article as he chewed his eggs. Harry had never noticed how stressed he was by teaching, now seeing him here he looked relaxed and didn't have as much tension in his body. Snape glanced over to his observer.

"Well if you are finished we should probably get to work." Pushing away his half finished plate he picked up Harry and walked back to his workroom. Placing him on the table he picked up a small syringe with a needle on the end.

"Now you aren't going to like this but I need some blood to make it work. We can do this the easy way or I can grab you again and take it by force."

Harry's eyes went wide and he thought about running then he realized there was no way out of it. Snape was right he would get it one way or the other. Resigning himself to his fate he held out one of his paws to the man. Snape blinked and stared at the cat, he never expected to get that reaction. Shaking his head he carefully inserted the needle and drew what he needed. Placing the tip of the needle in the potion he pushed the stopper till it was empty. He stirred three times counter clockwise before placing a length of parchment in there. The potion bubbled and let out a puff of blue smoke before it settled and Snape pulled out the parchment.

"Let's see what it says shall we?"

Unrolling it he began reading aloud.

"Genus: Felis Species: unknown.

Hmm interesting, I was right on the cat part, but how are you unknown? You had to come from somewhere.

Gender: Male

Age: 1

Just a kitten then, well I suppose in human years that would make you about 15 ish.

Magic level: Moderate

Current Medical Diagnosis:

Malnourished, I had guessed that one.

Vitamin deficiency, that goes with the malnourishment

Stunted growth, again most likely caused by long-term malnutrition

Bruised rib, hmm

Side effects of unknown potion, that's odd this should have listed the potion or at

least its ingredients. I will have to do some more tests on that

Remnants of dreamless sleep potion, now that is just unsafe to give an animal.

Especially if there was an unknown potion in your system

Current Spells and or ailments:

Obedience spell: unknown

Magic Taming spell: unknown, well you must have an owner somewhere in the

castle. Though it should have given their name

Stinging jinx: right back paw: Evelyn Brodomir, she's a Ravenclaw if I

remember, you more than likely sustained that while running through the front hall.

My, my little one, you sure do have quite the list. Well, nothing more can be done tonight how would you like to head to bed?"

Snape picked Harry up taking him back into the living room. Conjuring a blanket he balled it up on the couch making a small nest for his charge.

"You can stay here for the night, I have class in the morning so I am going to have to figure out what to do with you." Pausing he glanced at the small kitten in the blanket.

"I guess I should come up with a name for you little one. Your eyes are Green like my best friend of many years ago, but she was called Lilly, and since you are very obviously a boy that wouldn't work." Harry tilted his head at the man and purred.

"How about Evan? It is close to her last name but still fits." Harry just curled up before blinking at the man.

 _'It will do for now till you figure out I'm actually Harry…then at which point you might skin me alive and use me for a potion.'_

Snape just chuckled and headed towards his room not knowing he was being talked to.

"Goodnight Evan, and try not to get into my things. I'm trusting you out here."

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Working on the next chapter now. I'm into new content now so it may take me a bit longer to post chapters from now on.


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